Sunday enforcement starts at SF parking meters

They had been giving verbal and written warnings the past three Sundays, 11,000 in all. On Sunday they started issuing tickets at noon. Officers gave them to anyone with an expired meter, putting an end to the 65 year tradition of free parking on Sundays in San Francisco.

The Municipal Transportation Agency approved the plan in April and in recent months had been warning people through newspaper ads, broadcast media, social media, and notices on storefronts. It appears to have worked.

One parking control officer says she'd been writing fewer tickets than she expected on this first day of enforcement.

And when asked if she got any grief on this first day of enforcement, parking control officer Mercy Zamora said, "Actually no, that was what I was afraid of coming to work today, the grief. But no, no grief. People have been really nice."

San Francisco resident Danielle Misko said "I wouldn't drive on Saturdays but drove on Sundays. And now I'm definitely going to think twice about that."

Fellow city resident Kate Freedman added, "It's unfortunate that we have to pay on Sundays considering we have to pay for everything else. But I don't know, I guess it is what it is, the city just wants their money for everything."

According to the SFMTA, all city parking meters will also now have at least four-hour time limits on Sundays. They note that parking meters in the Fisherman's Wharf area will continue to operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays, and in the Port of San Francisco's jurisdiction from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

A ticket is $62, although it's more if you're ticketed downtown -- $72.

Sunday enforcement is expected to generate two million dollars a year.